Too Late
by Chibi Botan
Summary: ONE-SHOT. What if Koenma did not send the tape that revealed Yukina’s location? What if Yusuke and Kuwabara were not sent to save her? What if Hiei was imprisoned in Reikai for a long time? Will he ever find his twin, or will he be too late?


_What if Koenma did not send the tape that revealed Yukina's location? What if Yusuke and Kuwabara were not sent to save her?  
What if Hiei was imprisoned in Reikai for a long time? Will he ever find his twin, or will he be too late?_

* * *

**Too Late**

Written by Justine JBV / Chibi Botan

* * *

"At last," Yukina briefly gave a smile of satisfaction.

After years of trying to find a way out of this prison, she finally managed to remove the seals that had been used on the steel windows.

Removing the window was much easier without the seal that gave the window a high voltage.

Jumping down was scary, but the bushes cradled her fall, just as she anticipated.

What she did not anticipate was her captor arriving earlier, catching her just when she started to run away for freedom.

She did not anticipate the bullet that snuffed away her young life either.

* * *

Hiei stopped on his tracks.

When the seal was broken the image of Yukina jumping to freedom flashed on his mind.

A brief second and it's gone. He didn't know why, but he's determined to find out.

His twin was held captive in that mansion, and his Jagan eye could now visualize the exact location of it in Ningenkai.

He called the attention of his companion, who had just finished of the last of ogres that tried to stop them from escaping their prison cell.

"I saw where Yukina is kept," was all he said, but it was enough to give them a sense of urgency.

In a speed that matches the wind, they left the Reikai prison, and headed off to Tarukane's mansion.

* * *

Up above the mansion, a blue-haired ferrygirl had arrived to collect Yukina's soul.

Before she managed to try to cheer up the soul, they heard a loud blast, and both looked down to see the mansion was swallowed by flames.

The ferrygirl's eyes widened, looked at the young girl and asked, "Did you do that?"

The girl merely shrugged. "No."

From where they are they could not see anyone.

Whoever did that to the mansion must have a grudge on the owner, but Yukina couldn't care less, whoever it was.

* * *

Somewhere far away, a lanky teenager with a strong sixth sense had heard the blast.

He knew it wasn't a sound made by ordinary human beings.

Breaking way from his friends' discussion, he looked up above to nowhere and wondered, "What could that be?"

For an unknown reason, he found himself staring at his hands, as if feeling that the answer would be there.

His friends called him, and he decided to ignore it all.

He will never discover the powers of the red-pinky string of love and fate.

It was gone before it had the chance to form.

* * *

Hiei sat on the ground, fists clenched, head bowed, silently grieving.

In front of him was his twin's lifeless body. They had arrived too late.

The spirit fox knew better than to try saying words of comfort.

He was inconsolable, his anger accented by the heat of the flames. In a flare of anger he had burned down the mansion and the surrounding trees.

The fox joined him in his silent grief. None of them made any sound for a long while.

When the fire demon finally made a sound, it was a sound that reminded him of the cry of a wounded animal. Of one that had just lost the only thing he ever cared for.

* * *

"Looks like it's made by someone who came for you," the ferrygirl guessed, thinking of both the blast and the howl.

"No, it couldn't have been." Yukina seemed sure of that.

"But why?" the ferrygirl wondered. She hadn't the chance to peek in the book of life yet, but surely the girl had a family or friends who went to save her.

Her eyes clouded by an unknown, guarded emotion, she answered, "Because I have no one."

* * *

_Thank you for reading._

* * *

I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho, not a scene from the anime, not a panel from the manga. And I doubt I'll have any money to buy a tiny part of this legendary animanga if it went on sale. (In short: I'm very poor, please don't sue me.)


End file.
